Towing the K5

Something happened to my K5. Don't know what. Have ideas. Won't know till its all said and done. Heres the problem:
Towing company put my T case in N but left the transmission in P. Towed with back wheels on ground. Driveshaft still attached. Engine runs. Put T case back in 2hi and put tranny in D...it do not go. WTF happened? I have been told that you do not tow a 4x4 with the back wheels on the ground without removing the rear driveshaft. They didn't remove the driveshaft. What damage can be done if it is pulled the way I describe? And how do I prove the towing company did it wrong?
Thanks

My Blazer had a sticker (faded away) that said to tow just as your tow company did. Mine is a TH350+NP203. What are you running?

I think if you try to argue with the towing company that they did wrong, they could come out with a catalog or another Blazer that shows that sticker that proves they did right.

Personally, I don't think GM would design a drivetrain that had to be disassembled just to be towed. Besides, I'd say shifting the T-case to N is almost as removing both driveshafts. I think they did right.

Maybe your T-case isn't engaged properly, or the shifter linkage came off. Just a few ideas.

Reply to my own message....
I forgot to mention something. My K5 was towed on the interstate between 60-65 mph for a distance of about 10 miles. Now how does this outcome look? Rear driveshaft was installed, tcase in N, transmission in P with rear wheels on the ground.

if t-case is in nuetral the tranny is not engaged, so i can't see where the position of the gear shift would have any relevance
could towing at speed damage the t-case, and so would that make you not go
something sounds strange to me
what was the reason the truck was towed, could it be related to why it wont go now
keep us posted

It needs a bigger motor.
what's in it now?
doen't matter it NEEDS A BIGGER MOTOR
89 350tbi/700r4h/np208/4.11's

Sounds like your tcase is still in nuetral. Try having somone push the truck and try shifting the tcase back into gear. If something broke the wtecker driver would have known it (i.e. loud bang or popping coming from underneath your truck). LIke I said, its just still in nuetral most likely. Just get it moving and try to shift out.

I dont think that swiming helped it but I dont think that was what killed it. Till you pull the motor down you wont know what stoped it from running. The 203 and 205 both can be towed with the case shifted to N. If the trany was in park then the t-case had to be in N for the thing to move! N was not for towing in the old cases it was for useing the PTO I think. Tear it gown and tells us what happend. One thing if the motor is dead how do you know the trany or tcase work?

I'm pretty sure that;
Flat towing 208s is a bad deal. 208s have a internal pump that (I think) is driven off the main shaft and not the out-put shaft. So, (maybe) if the Blazer was flat towed, it -might- have smoked the tranfer case oil. Not good, check/change and save the old fluid, take a pic of it flowing out.

In this case. The blazer should still move, even if the case is smoked, so that leads me to belive that the linkage or something else has gone goofy.

Also, It will be hard to proof, in a court of law, that the tow-truck company did the damage, given the situation (in my opinion)

This is my honest opinion of what I've read here. The best bet is always, to get it properly diagnosed first, then start tring to figure out why.

Hope this helps a little. Good luck with it.

<font color=white>It's good to be out</font color=white>
<font color=white>Out of my mind and out of control</font color=white><font color=blue>Twiztid</font color=blue><P ID="edit"><FONT class="small">Edited by Twiztid on 08/12/01 02:14 AM.</FONT></P>

restore89:
Thank you for the moment of silence. When the engine died the tranny was fine. I could even still start the engine and it would run, except with a loud knocking noise from the passenger side.

MudboggAD:
Water in tranny? I don't know how the water went from the radiator to the tranny. The fluid in the tranny is nice cherry red.

BlueBlazer62:
Looked underneath while shifting tcase lever. Everything hooked up. the wrecker would have had some problems pulling the Blazer if it wasn't in N....but its the interstate driving and the rear tires on the ground at that speed.

Blazer72: I am going to be taking the motor down and looking at it today. The 203 and the 205 can be towed in N....but what about the 208?

Twizkid: So you are saying having the 208 with the rear wheels on the ground is a no no? even with the tcase in N? I have already talked to the tow company. They said if there is an indication that they did anything they will pay for it.

If this crap keeps going on I will need a straightjacket and a bank robbery to get this stuff going!!

What happens after you put the transmission back into P after D. If the Xfer case is shot, it will grind... real nasty sound. If there is no noise something is wrond with the transmission in front of the park mechanism. This will let you know if it's the xfer case or not.

if your case was in N then you should be fine. even with a 203. also check your linkage. mine had a problem abour 18 months ago. if both levers on the box are not in the right place then you will not go anywhere. check bot trans and t-case linkages. make sure you are in gear on both of them.
Grant

1974 Chevy Blazer Cheyanne. but it is on 33's now, with saggy old springs. i am in Yuma Arizona if ya got any parts for me.

It didn't grind when switching gears. It grinded after the ignition was shut off. Sounded like something in the tranny area was unwinding!!
The sound was like if you ever had your tires stuck and they wouldn't spin and you hammered on it and let off.
I will be calling the tranny shop here in about 3 minutes......

I do towing up here in Manitoba, Canada for CAA(same as AAA down in the usa) and we are issued the aaa books for towing procedures for every make/model...the oldest book Ihave is 89 and here is the procedure for the suburban/blazer/jimmy fullsize (still the old style we all love):
when lifting the front:
attatch J-hooks to axle between shock absorbers and u bolts
position towbar (sling) under spring eyes
attatch safety chains around spring eyes
CAUTION:
Tow vehicle with transmission in NEUTRAL,transfercase in 2wd, manual hubs in free position
with auto or manual trans tow max 35mph for maximum distance of 50 miles...

in my opinion the tow guy should of either pulled the driveshaft or put the rear wheels on dollies....that's what I do....it's cheap insurance to save yourself from a damage claim (I'm claim free for my 14 years of towing!) if you need any other info or a scan of the book just email me....hope this helps...ED

the procedure the tow guy used is the same procedure listed in the book for the new style88 up pickups...why is there a difference, i don't know, I just follow the book to cover my a$$....but even for the new style listing it has the same mph limit of 35 and distance of 50 miles......

Yes...could you please send that page to me. I have a cable modem so I don't have to worry about size so make it as good as you can....it may come in handy in court if I have to go that route!!
My email is SK-15@home.com
Thanks

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